Tom's Hardware > All Reviews > Components > Cooling > Overclocking On Air: 10 LGA 1156-Compatible Performance Coolers

Thermaltake Frio

07:10 - Wednesday 27 January 2010 by Thomas Soderstrom

A major player in both the retail and OEM cooler industry, the Frio might be Thermaltake’s most ambitious project to date. Two high-speed adjustable fans and five large heat pipes set the Frio apart from Thermaltake’s previous efforts.

Our pre-production unit arrived unboxed, but it did include all the hardware needed for Intel’s LGA 1156, 1366, and 775 processors, plus AMD’s Socket AM2, AM2+, and AM3 devices. Rubber washers prevent the LGA mounting tabs from contacting the motherboard’s top surface.

A chrome finish covers the pipes, while the base plating appears to be nickel. This plating is applied over an unpolished, finely sanded surface.

Installation is super-easy outside of a case, but removing the cooler with the motherboard installed requires a chassis that has an access hole in the motherboard tray beneath the CPU. If cooling performance matches its aggressive looks, this could be a great cooler for bench testing.

Unfortunately, the missing retail box is accompanied by a missing retail price. Thermaltake launched the Frio at CES, so we expect to see it reach our favorite sellers soon.

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mi1ez 27/01/2010 10:05

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Is the Titan Fenrir unavailable in the US, or is it just ignored...

jimishtar 27/01/2010 15:50

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i have the mugen 2 coolin my q9400 @ 3,2 GHz at auto voltage. temps are ~40 idle, ~62 load, but watch out - its PASSIVE, honey ! no fans on it, its sheer size is taking all the heat away, although the case is HAF 932.

redkachina 27/01/2010 22:20

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Sunbeam core contact freezer includes 1156 bracket? I've been trying to find those adapter for some time-even tried emailing Sunbeam's tech support.. and now it showed up in Tom's.. anyone have any links of online retailers selling em'??

Silvune 27/01/2010 22:24

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Very useful article.

frankgl 28/01/2010 11:04

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I use a Cooler Master Hyper TX3, which keeps my CoreI5 750 at 29-32 degrees C. It is not overclocked, but it certainly leaves a lot of room with temps that low.

brianthesnail 28/01/2010 12:42

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great review...i have the freezer 7 pro(lga775) cooling my pentium D 915( oc to 3.2ghz) and it does a sterling job keeping the cpu,s idle temp at just 29°C...rising to 47°C(max)at full load..
i was looking at the corsair H50 however why fix it when its not broken....
that said i would choose the Scythe Mugen-2 if i had to replace the freezer 7 pro.....
good article !

Anonymous 28/01/2010 19:15

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Since I hear nothing but good things about the Titan Fenrir I am a little disappointed to not see it in this test...

Anonymous 31/01/2010 06:47

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why dont they have the prolimatech mega shadow in there?

i5 750 @ 3.6ghz @ 26 degrees in my pc best cooler available imo for 1156

abhi_jollyguy 01/02/2010 14:23

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Well, It's a very nice review. As we all knows that Noctua NH-D14 beats Prolimatech Megahalem by near about 2-4 degree C so may be that is why they have not included Megahalem in this test but overall a very nice review and from this review I have decided to buy Scythe Mugen 2 Revision B.

thelivingflesh 16/02/2010 22:31

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the freezer 7 looks neat with the white fan specially if you have the accellero xxx edition of inno3d graphic cards!

bateman82 10/05/2010 19:15

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I have bought this one and are getting it tomorrow. Will be interesting to see the temp after installing Scythe mugen because now I have a some piece of shit to cooler and fan that keeps my 2,8 ghz processor at a 80 temp when full process and around 60~ in idle.. Plus it sounds like an airplane when the fan is on So this will be interesting and appreciated with a new cooler. Nice review!

olivierhacking 25/10/2010 18:06

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im not sure if I should get the hyper 212 plus or scythe mugen 2 rev b. the scythe costs me 50 euro and the hyper 212 plus just 30 euro. Is the scythe worth the almost double price? I am planning to overclock my i7 860 to 3.8ghz. And I am fine with cpu temperatures which are not above 70 C

Anonymous 16/01/2011 08:53

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great review, thanks. which PWM fan did you use to replace the thermalright one?

niko935 29/07/2011 12:58

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noctua is one best cooler
watch my noctua
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlillcv4W6w